Jackie, upon hearing Red, woke up and gasped, removing herself from Eric's arm and moving to the other side of the couch.

"D-d-dad, it's not what it looks like," Eric stuttered, unsure what exactly to say.

"Yeah, that's why you sound so calm," Red commented. "What the hell is the matter with you? The last thing that girl needs right now is someone like you!"

Jackie opened her mouth to speak, but Eric spoke first.

"No, Dad, I'm not gonna let you lecture me about this," he said sternly.

"Oh really?" Red inquired sarcastically.

"Yeah, okay?" Eric stood up to face his father. "I know that this is gonna receive some backlash, and I get it, but… I know her now, alright?" He looked over at Jackie and then at his father. "I care about her. She's… she's wonderful and yeah, I'll say it before you do, I don't deserve her, but… she needs somebody right now."

"And you think you're going to be able to help her with all of this," Red responded, raising his eyebrows. He shook his head and sighed. "I'm happy that you both are getting along, but this is going a little far, don't you think?"

"Mr. Forman, if you don't mind," Jackie said, standing up. "Um, Eric has been so helpful and supportive and great to me since I moved in, and… I believe him when he says he cares about me." She stood half-behind Eric and held onto his arm.

Red groaned. "How you keep getting these girls is beyond me," he muttered, and looked at Jackie. "Jackie, you're going through a lot right now, and, uh, I know it's easy to think that maybe this is the right thing right now, but…"

"Dad, she wants to be with me," Eric interrupted, placing an arm around Jackie. "And I want to be with her. This is right for us, and not just for the time being."

Red looked at the two of them for a moment and sighed. "Alright. You two have your minds made up, and you're adults." He cleared his throat. "But, Eric, what are you going to do if the father comes back?"

"No," Jackie said, shaking her head. "He's out of the picture. Even if he changed his mind, he's not worthy of me and my baby."

"And Eric is?" Red asked in disbelief, watching his son protectively pull the young brunette closer to him.

"Yes, Mr. Forman," Jackie stated plainly. "He is completely worthy, if he's willing."

"And I am willing," Eric told his father, who looked stunned. "Dad, I love her."

Jackie looked up at him in shock. She turned to face him. "You love me?"

"Yeah, I do," Eric said, putting her hands in his. "I've known you forever, but I didn't actually know you. Now that I do… I love you, Jackie."

"I…" Jackie looked at him in awe. "I love you, too."

Red grunted, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "I'm going to… go tell your mother about all of this."

"Okay," Eric responded, never taking his eyes off of the brunette before him. Red went up the stairs and Eric squeezed Jackie's hands, which were still in his own. "Jackie, I… I really want this to work out."

"I do, too," she admitted. "But there are a lot more people that are inevitably going to find out and be against this."

"I don't care about that," Eric said, dropping her hands and enveloping her in an embrace. She clung onto him and sighed contentedly. When they broke apart, Eric guided her to the couch and they both sat down. "When Donna and I broke up… I thought I'd never get over her. She had been a constant in my life for so long." He looked at her and smiled. "But so were you… and here you are, and… I don't want to be without you."

Jackie gave him a small smile. "I don't want to be without you, either." She grabbed his arm and put it around her, snuggling into him. He grinned at her, kissing the top of her head.

Quick footsteps were heard coming down the stairs.

"You two are together?" Kitty asked, looking surprised as she stood in front of them. She noticed their positions on the couch and she broke out into a big smile. "You're in love?"

Eric gave his mother a shy smile. "Yeah… we are." He clasped his hand on Jackie's waist.

"Oh my God, and there I was thinking you two would never get along," Kitty replied, adoring the way they looked together. Then, she noticed Eric's hand, which was resting on Jackie's little baby bump. Kitty remembered the circumstances and tried to quell her excitement a bit. "Now, this is a very big deal… I hope you two are serious."

"We already told Dad how serious we are," Eric told her. "And even if you guys don't believe me… I don't care, okay?"

"No, no, honey," Kitty quickly responded. "I believe you." The excitement resurfaced and she grinned. "Oh, you two together is just the cutest darn thing."

Eric chuckled. "I'm glad you're okay with it, Mom."

"I mean… we definitely have some talking to do," Kitty told her son, giving him a serious look. "But… well, this is just the nicest surprise!" She ran behind the couch, kissing them each on the top of the head, and then scurried upstairs.

Eric grinned. "Thank God… all I want is a little privacy with you."

"I know," Jackie agreed, leaning on him again, just as the door opened, revealing Kelso.

"Eric, I'm back, and—" Kelso glanced at the pair that were sitting on the couch together and laughed. "What the hell are you guys doing, man?"

Jackie rolled her eyes. "We've gone through this way too many times today." She stood up. "Eric and I are together, okay, and we don't care if you have a problem with it."

"Oh… okay," Kelso responded, seeming slightly distracted. "Hey, Jackie, what's with the boobs?"

Eric stifled laughter as Jackie self-consciously crossed her arms over her chest.

"Michael, I'm pregnant," she told him.

Kelso's eyes widened in fear, and then confusion took over his face. "Wait, you and Eric are having a baby?"

Jackie sighed. "No, some idiot got me pregnant and bailed on me, and now that we've been living together, Eric and I have… started dating."

Kelso shot Eric a weird look. "Even though she's knocked up?"

"Yes, Kelso," Eric responded flatly.

"Wow, Eric, that's… how noble of you," Kelso admitted, and then his face grew a bit concerned. "Wait, who's the idiot?"

"You don't know him, Michael," Jackie replied.

"Oh… good." Kelso sat down in the chair nearest to the door. "So where's Hyde and Fez?"

"Probably at their apartment," Eric told him as Jackie rejoined him on the couch.

Kelso looked at them in surprise. "Man, is anything the same as it was when I left?"

Eric shrugged. "Red's still a hardass."

Kelso chuckled. "Well, yeah." He looked over at his ex-girlfriend. "So, Jackie, if you need any tips on bein' a parent, you can always ask me, you know."

"Thanks," Jackie told him, "But I think being a mother and being a father are a little bit different. Don't you only see Betsy on the weekends?"

"Yeah, well, Brooke's been lettin' me watch her during the week when I don't work," Kelso replied defensively. "Brooke's been taking college classes 'cause she wants to get her master's."

Eric tried not to laugh at the irony of how smart Kelso's co-parent was. "So… everything's gone okay with Betsy, then?"

"Yeah, I mean, she gets into stuff a lot, but I mean that's just what a baby does," Kelso said.

"Well, you keep a close eye on her, don't you?" Jackie inquired.

"Yeah!" Kelso replied, sounding offended. "But, like, even if I didn't, my apartment is totally baby-proof."

"So you're telling me you don't have any bottle rockets at your place?" Eric asked in disbelief.

Kelso looked sheepish. "Well… I mean, they're in the drawer, and… Betsy's only like, a foot and a half tall, so…"

"Michael!" Jackie scolded. "You don't need bottle rockets when you have a baby around!"

"Well, damn, Jackie!" Kelso responded. "She's not always around!"

"Just… promise me you don't have a gun anymore," Jackie said slowly, giving her ex-boyfriend a serious look.

"No, I learned my lesson there," Kelso agreed, laughing to himself. "Wait, unless you mean a B.B. gun."

Eric raised his eyebrows. "Kelso, if you're gonna have those kinds of things in your house, you should get a safe."

"It is safe," Kelso whined.

"No, a safe," Eric repeated. "Where you put all of your valuable and/or dangerous items and you lock it." He leaned towards Jackie and lowered his voice. "And then forget the code."

Jackie suppressed her smile and looked back at Kelso. "Yeah, if Betsy's at your place a lot, you need to make things safer. You don't want anything to happen to her, right?"

"No way!" Kelso grimaced at the thought. "If anything ever happened to her, I would just die."

Jackie touched her stomach and thought about how she would feel once her baby was born.

Kelso noticed. "Jackie, you're gonna be a good mom. I mean, you always kept me in check."

"Tried to," Eric corrected him.

Jackie bit her lip and smiled at Kelso. "Thanks, Michael. I really hope so."

"And Brooke still has a ton of baby stuff that Betsy doesn't really need anymore," he added. "I can ask her if I can bring it to you."

Normally Jackie would hate the thought of using hand-me-downs, especially from her ex, but she didn't have much money coming in these days and the alternative was having the Formans provide her with everything she needed. "Really? Wow, thank you."

"Yeah, and if it's a girl we can give you all of her old clothes," Kelso told her. "I mean, you got her some of the stuff so it's not like you won't like it."

Jackie beamed. "So true. I'm not having her wear any cheap fabric, though… I'm not going to risk her breaking out in a rash and looking ugly."

Eric turned and looked at Jackie. "Her?"

"I'm just guessing," Jackie said, shrugging. "She feels like a girl."

"How far along are you?" Kelso inquired, curious.

"Eleven weeks now," Jackie told him. "After next week I'm done with my first trimester."

Kelso looked confused. "Well, damn, Jackie, I didn't know you were going to school, too."

Jackie and Eric rolled their eyes.